Kylian Mbappe’s late strike was enough to send Real Madrid back to the summit of La Liga as they edged past nine-man Getafe 1–0 on Sunday night.
The French forward kept his composure in the 80th minute, latching onto Arda Guler’s incisive pass before calmly slotting the ball past goalkeeper David Soria to seal all three points for Los Blancos.
Getafe’s night quickly unraveled after substitute Allan Nyom was shown a red card just 44 seconds after coming on. The former Watford and West Brom defender was dismissed for elbowing Vinicius Jr., leaving the hosts a man down.
Real Madrid immediately capitalized on the advantage through Mbappe’s decisive finish. Things worsened for Getafe when striker Alex Sancris received a second yellow card six minutes from time, reducing them to nine men.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Getafe nearly snatched a dramatic equalizer deep into stoppage time. Abu Kamara, on loan from Hull City, forced Thibaut Courtois into a crucial save to preserve Real’s narrow lead.
Before kick-off, both sets of players stood still for 15 seconds to continue the league-wide protest against La Liga’s decision to stage a fixture in the United States — with Villarreal set to face Barcelona in Miami on December 20.
Real Madrid went into the match knowing only a victory would take them above defending champions Barcelona, who had beaten Girona 2–1 the previous day.
David Soria was exceptional in the Getafe goal, denying Mbappe early on and later producing a double save to keep out David Alaba’s free-kick and Federico Valverde’s follow-up effort. Mbappe also went close again from a tight angle after a neat pass from Jude Bellingham.
The England midfielder, returning from shoulder surgery, made just his second start of the season after missing international duty against Wales and Latvia.
In the end, Real Madrid’s persistence paid off against a resilient Getafe side. The victory restores Xabi Alonso’s team to the top of the table as they now turn their attention to Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Juventus, where they’ll aim to maintain their perfect group stage record.
Source: Wesleyannews.com
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